Up Close or in a Local Bar, MSG, Time Warner Cable Host Fans to a Win-Win

By Tim Baysinger , Kent Gibbons , Mike Reynolds and John Eggerton -- Multichannel News, 1/30/2012 12:50:00 AM

The month-long (and counting) blackout of MSG and MSG Plus on Time Warner Cable has deprived the MSO’s subscribers of watching the first-place New York Rangers and, er, third-place New York Knicks from the comfort of their home TVs.

The two sides apparently aren’t progressing in talks to restore MSG and MSG Plus to those 2.3 million subscribers in the New York DMA. But they made it a little easier for Rangers and Knicks fans to watch their teams win last Tuesday (Jan. 24).

The Wire tagged along for an MSG “viewing party” at The Blind Pig on E. 14 St. in Manhattan. The bar’s DirecTV-wired sets were tuned to the hometeam National Hockey League Rangers defeating the Winnipeg Jets. MSG provided wings and Tshirts, and ex-defenseman Ron Greschner signed autographs.

Attendees told The Wire they appreciated the gesture and enjoyed the camaraderie of fellow fans. But they’d rather have the option of staying home. “It’s fun,” Ryan Montenegro, 27, said. “I would gladly trade [all] of this to watch it at home.”

Steven Presser, 43, called it the best of a bad situation. “I can’t watch it at home, so I gotta watch it somewhere.”

These fans were neutral as to blame. “It’s rich people fighting with rich people,” Rob Weiss, 29, said. “I just want to watch the game.”

Time Warner Cable’s outreach efforts included a contest where 10 subscribers (plus a guest each) won a free trip to Charlotte, N.C., to see the Knicks play their National Basketball Association rival, the Charlotte Bobcats, at the … Time Warner Cable Arena.

Six TWC front-line employees also won a free trip down, a hotel stay and a gift card for expenses, TWC spokesman Bobby Amirshahi told The Wire.

One lucky subscriber was 22-year-old Jeremy Oved of Manhattan, whose guest was his brother, Andrew, 20.

They were doubly fortunate in that they watched the Knicks snap a six-game losing streak against the Bobcats — at courtside, while their other companions sat in a corporate box.

Oved told The Wire it was “an amazing experience” and he loved sitting near the court, where he “kept on giving the players and the ref an earful.” (Hey, he’s a New Yorker.)

“Overall, I think it’s been a little bit tough for fans in New York,” he said of the MSG-TWC standoff .

He said he’s even watched two games so far via video chat with a friend who sets his computer in front of the TV.

He was philosophical about the dispute, and sympathet ic to his TWC hosts. “My opinion has always been that I want to have the games on, but I understand that there’s something going on financially, and I think that as a business person I can understand that to a certain extent. I don’t think that they’re going out of their way for all of this media attention. I just think that financially it’s not feasible at this point.”

He also was upset that the Knicks (7-11 at press time) lost the next night.

NBCU Is ‘All In,’ Across TV Sites, For Super Sunday

With the Peacock Network presenting the Big Game, it’s no surprise NBCUniversal’s game plan for backing Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis mirrors the New York Giants’ “All In” motto, reaching across an array of assets.

NBC, in its first Super Bowl under Comcast’s watch, is said to be pulling in a record average of $3.5 million per 30-second spot for the Feb. 5 telecast, while it sits on what could be the largest audience in U.S. TV history. The record was set by last year’s game, with 111 million viewers.

NBC Sports Network (née Versus) will provide more than 18 hours of live coverage from Indy through daily editions, beginning on Jan. 30, of NBC Sports Talk: Live From the Super Bowl. Host Russ Thaler will be joined by an array of NBC talent, guests and gridiron experts weighing in on what will unfold between the Giants and the New England Patriots in their rematch of Super Bowl XLII.

NBC Sports Network’s inaugural show with Emmy-winning Bob Costas, Costas Tonight: Live From the Super Bowl, will air on Feb. 2 from 8-10 p.m.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell will tape a Sports Biz: Game On episode from Indianapolis the Friday before the game.

For the first time, Jimmy Fallon’s show will hit the road, hosting four editions from the host city, including the firstever Live Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on Sunday night/early Monday after the game.

Golf Channel plans a “David Feherty Live” stage show in Indianapolis on Friday night, followed by a one-hour special airing at 10 p.m. Saturday.

The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore will be on scene with team Super Bowl coverage, as will Wake Up with Al’s Stephanie Abrams and Al Roker.

Talent and crews from Today, Access Hollywood, E! News and Style will all be in Indianapolis.

Bravo’s Top Chef host Tom Colicchio and former contestants Richard Blais and Antonia Lofaso will create the perfect tailgate food. Football Night in America’s Tony Dungy and Rodney Hampton will determine the winner on NBC’s Super Bowl XLVI Pre-Game Show.

Style will feature a pre-game Super Bowl party-planning segment with Bill and Giuliana Rancic, and will offer party tips throughout the week, culminating in a Super Bowl party reveal during the pre-game show.

Giffords Images Help C-SPAN Make Case For Wider TV Angles

C-SPAN used last Wednesday’s (Jan. 25) congressional send-off for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (the Arizona Democrat who survived an assassination attempt a year ago) to underline its recurring pitch to get the House to loosen up rules on cameras and allow for reaction shots during floor proceedings.

Currently, C-SPAN taps a House camera that is fixed on the floor speaker, period, no matter what happens elsewhere in the chamber. Kind of like those Mars probe cameras that stay in one place, or the set-ups in the prison hallways and dusky dining rooms on Ghost Hunters.

C-SPAN pointed out to reporters that the Giffords sendoff featured an “unusual display of extra TV camera shots.” They included shots of the family in the gallery and additional angles C-SPAN said added a lot to the proceedings and “might lead one to ask, why not permit such camera shots every day?” C-SPAN for years has been asking House speakers — who control the cameras — to allow more angles, to no avail.

The cable-sponsored public-affairs network also saw as a positive sign the test, starting with last week’s State of the Union speech, of letting reporters bring iPhones, BlackBerrys, laptops and tablets — computers, not the sleeping pills that House debates often make unnecessary — into the House press gallery.